The winter in London was long. It was cold and dark. I went to lectures and drank at night. By February I wanted sun.
On the Underground there were posters for Spain. A cheap week. I did not want the Costa del Sol. I wanted somewhere quiet.
Someone said Alicante. They said there was camping.
I bought a tent and left.
Spain was warm. The light was good. I slept well.
I saw Billy Proper by the harbor. She was about twenty-eight. She was slim. She had long red hair that caught the light when she moved. She stood watching the boats and did not hurry.
She wore plain clothes. They fit her. She looked rested.
She spoke easily. She listened more than she talked.
She bought coffee and set it down in front of me before I could refuse. She did not wait to see if I thanked her.
Later I read about her.
They said she took a motorboat. The keys were in it. She started the engine and went out of the harbor.
A port worker saw her and ran. He jumped aboard and brought her back.
She did not want to get off the boat.
Then she did.
She stepped aside so he could pass. She did not argue. She did not explain.
Before Alicante she had been other places.
In La Spezia she walked into a hotel late. She asked for a key. She slept and left early. She made the bed.
In Barcelona she took sailing lessons. She learned quickly. When another student struggled, she waited until he asked for help.
In Ventimiglia she ate fish and bread. She talked with the owner about the weather. She left before the bill came and left nothing behind.
In Santa Margherita Ligure she ordered a beauty treatment. When they asked for payment, she listened. She nodded once. Then she left.
She moved often.
When they arrested her she had no money. No cards. A copy of her passport. Clothes in a pack.
They said she might have been sleeping outside.
She kept her sweater on.
At night I ate with fishermen. We had paella and wine. They talked. I listened.
Billy said Europe was easy if you paid attention. She said it once.
They wrote about her in the papers. They listed where she had been and what she had taken.
They said she could go to prison.
They said she could not be reached.
I believed that.
She never stayed long enough to be forgiven.
She never stayed long enough to be cruel.
Marty's thoughts 
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